Existing single-level male headers in an electrical connection are typically comprised of a housing that has a single surface for the male pin or blade terminals to be retained. FIGS. 1-5 illustrate various known configurations for male header connectors. In particular, these figures show a variety of connectors wherein a plurality of terminals 105 extend upwardly from a circuit board 110 through a surface 115 and into a receptacle portion 120 defined by a connector housing 100. For example, FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a top mounted male header connector having two rows of terminals, FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a side-mounted male header connector having two rows of terminals, FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a side-mounted male header connector having three rows of terminals, and FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a side-mounted male header have four rows of terminals.
In addition to showing connector device 100, FIG. 3 also illustrates the interrelationship between a female connector 200 and male connector device 100. When connected (i.e. when female connector 200 is positioned inside receptacle portion 120), terminals 105 of connector device 100 fit into female terminals 205 of female connector 200, thus establishing a connection.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,550 issued to Okabe relates to an electrical connector with parallel terminals and partition plates of different lengths so that the rear end portions of the terminal storage chambers of the connector are arranged in stepped portions. The stepped portions of the connector assembly are then connected to wire leads or to a single cable. This configuration is employed to facilitate wire connections to the terminal for reducing the time required to connect the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,464,540 issued to Sato generally relates to a connector unit having a plurality of primary and secondary contact leads. The contact leads are displaced by varying distances to facilitate connection to multiple layer printed circuit boards or multiple layer receptacles. Signal path length and the delay time difference among signal transmissions (a.k.a. skew) are standardized. Different signal path lengths are employed to compensate for delay time differences among signal transmission.
These types of headers encounter various problems. For example, for connections that have multiple rows or columns of terminals, this puts limitations on the pin or blade length protruding from the retaining surface as some pins or blades may be required to be longer than needed because of varying terminal sizes inside the single connector. In addition, for right-hand, or side-mounted, connections, this also requires larger pin lengths coming out of the back of the connector.